A new report reveals that the food giant Cargill is systematically failing on commitments to a deforestation-free soy supply chain in the near future. Since 2017, Cargill has directly purchased soy from farms that have razed 20,000 hectares of forest in Bolivia. The company's plans for sourcing future soy supplies also put over three million hectares of forest at risk of deforestation.

Processed meat currently makes up around 30% of average meat intake in the UK. This report outlines the negative effects that processed meat consumption has on both human and environmental health. It then sets out a series of policy recommendations for minimising its consumption

This paper is the first system-wide assessment of the effects of substituting animal based products with novel plant based alternatives on a range of food system concerns . The paper analyses four substitution scenarios (corresponding to 10%, 25%, 50% and 90% incremental substitution from 2020 to 2050) and determines the net results for food system outcomes including food availability, undernourishment levels, crop use and food prices, and environmental outcomes including land use change, emissions reduction, biodiversity intactness and nitrogen input.

This article explores the feasibility of achieving net negative emissions (which occurs when more greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere than are emitted) by 2050 through global food system transformation. Specifically, the authors assessed how various approaches to food system transformation may lead to reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and possibly increased carbon dioxide removal.

This paper explores the impact of recent spikes in food prices on poverty in lower-middle income countries (LMICs). It is often claimed that food price increases negatively affect the poor because they already spend a higher proportion of their total income on food. However, this paper takes into account the stimulation of great food production from higher prices and the effect this has on poverty.

58 academics have joined forces with two NGOs, the Environmental Paper Network and Fern, to draft a letter to MEPs warning them about misleading industry funded studies, including those by McDonald’s and the European Paper and Packaging Association. The letter highlights that the reports directly contradict the European Commission’s Impact Assessment and the UN report on single-use, and are sowing doubt about policies to reduce single-use packaging.

Recent revelations from Upside Foods employees raise serious questions about how much cultured meat companies have achieved after billions of dollars in investment in recent years, and whether wholecut cultivated meat products will ever be commercially viable. Upside meat has received a fifth of investment in cultured meats up to 2022, using its ability to produce wholecuts (rather than ground meat) as its distinguishing feature against competitors. However, interviews with employees reveal that bioreactors have failed to produce viable products and wholecuts still require intensive human intervention at small scales.

On 4 September, Wageningen University & Research celebrated the 105th Opening of the Academic Year, 2023-2024. This year's theme was Shaping Sustainable Futures. There was a focus on the future of food, as well as the role of WUR, and other universities, in leading change: "Throughout our history we have strived to strike a delicate balance between the need to produce food to nourish a growing population with safeguarding the wellbeing of the planet and its diverse species. […] Without a thriving and healthy planet earth, humans' ability to sustainably produce essentials like food, energy and clothes diminishes. It is a simple truth that underscores the interconnectedness between our survival and the wellbeing of our shared environment. Our knowledge and understanding of these complex problems have evolved, and so has our sense of radical responsibility." Sjoukje Heimovaara, WUR President A handful of TABLE associates presented talks at the Opening, including Ken Giller, Jeroen Candel and Ingrid de Zwarte.

John Klar argues that US conservatives should champion a vision of small farms, regenerative agriculture and personal liberty, in a polarised debate characterised by climate alarmism, promotion of 'spurious' energy sources and technocratic control on the left, and climate denialism and unbridled deregulation of environmentally harmful practices on the right.